Tag Archives: Aaron Lewis

Sara Evans is set to launch the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage at CMA Music Festival, which is set for June 6-9 in downtown Nashville. Evans will play at 10 a.m. June 6.

The Chevrolet Riverfront Stage operates daily and is free and open to the public.

Sara Evans

“Sara is the perfect choice to launch the daily concerts on the Chevrolet Riverfront Stage because of her great repertoire of hit music and undeniable connection to our fans,” said Steve Moore, CMA Chief Executive Officer.

Tickets to CMA Festival’s nightly shows at LP Field are sold out, but tickets are still available for Fan Fair X at Music City Center. Admission to that event is $10 a day or $25 for four days at www.ticketmaster.com. Children 12 and under will be admitted free of charge.

Aaron Lewis is best known as the frontman for alt-rock mainstays Staind ("It's Been Awhile," "So Far Away"), but he's embracing his country roots on his debut solo album, The Road, which hits stores on September 11.

Shelton, host of the show, jokingly told those participating they had to step it up this year.

“I want to talk about something that happened last year, more specifically the country artists that are here, the teams,” he said. “You guys suck. It’s embarrassing. Craig, you have a (darn) hunting show. And, Gary LeVox won this last year. That sucks. Let’s raise the bar for God’s sakes. Sober up.”

While many participants in the competition are big hunters, including Morgan, Lewis, Shelton and Brice (who says he has a “eat-what-you-kill” policy), the Perry brothers say they honed their gun skills at the firing range.

“It seems like easier to go out and shoot skeet than, it is 4 o’clock in the morning waiting for something to walk by,” Neil says.

Click to see a gallery of photos from the 46th Annual ACM Awards in 2011 (this image of entertainer of the year Taylor Swift: Julie Jacobson/AP Photo).

The vacation is over for Kenny Chesney, and the well-tanned East Tennessean couldn’t be happier.

The singer, who took a break from touring in 2010, returned to the road in 2011 and was nominated for nine Academy of Country Music Awards – more than any other artist – when nominations for the 47th annual country music awards show were announced online Thursday morning.

“It’s an honor to receive so much love from the Academy of Country Music after all they’ve done to support my music over the years,” Chesney said in a statement. “I can’t wait to get back on the road with my good friend Tim (McGraw) and throw one big spring break party all summer long.”

Chesney was recognized in categories including entertainer of the year, male vocalist of the year, album of the year, and single and song of the year — the latter two for “You and Tequila,” Chesney’s duet with Grace Potter.

“I’m really excited that I’m the guy that gets to sing that song for the rest of my life,” Chesney said at a recent Nashville Grammy party of “You and Tequila,” which is also nominated for best country song and best country duo or group performance at the Grammy Awards on Feb. 12.

“I was finally in a place in my life where I felt like I could sing that song. If I had recorded ‘You and Tequila’ 10 years ago, it wouldn’t have been the same record. I’m happy I waited to record it until I could make it believable and feel each and every syllable of that song.”

Chesney will find out how many trophies he wins when Blake Shelton and Reba McEntire co-host the ACM Awards at 7 p.m. April 1 at MGM Grand’s Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show airs live on CBS.

ST. LOUIS - Rock band Staind released its latest album, the self-titled Staind, by the skin of its teeth.

Singer Aaron Lewis describes the recording process for its seventh studio album as ugly, and the deluxe version of Staind comes with a documentary detailing that time.

"(It was) definitely a difficult and trying process," Lewis says. "In the middle of it all, it was so bad we lost our drummer."

The band members' personal lives were busy during the process, he says.

"I was in the middle of doing my vocals for the Staind record when my solo record came out, so I was working on my solo record," he says. "I was touring solo and recording the Staind record. And I was also trying to be a husband and father in there."

CMT’s Evan Farmer and Today show hosts Kathie Lee Gifford and Hoda Kotb announced the nominees Wednesday on the NBC morning show.

Crow and Lewis weren't the only traditionally non-country acts CMT roped into the nominee list. Teen pop star Justin Bieber earned a nod for his duet with Rascal Flatts, “That Should Be Me”; rock band Train snagged one for their performance of “A Broken Wing” with Martina McBride on the network’s Crossroads series, John Mayer showing up for his Crossroads teaming with Urban; and soul-pop singer Adele joins the list for her performance of Lady Antebellum’s “Need You Now” with Darius Rucker on the 2010 CMT Artists of the Year television special.

Fans can vote for their favorite artists online at CMT.com through June 7 to determine the winners.

The CMT Awards will air live at 7 p.m. on June 8 from Nashville. The show's venue and ticket on-sale date are yet to be announced. Check after the jump for the full of nominees.Continue reading →

The group, known for hits including "Rockstar," "How You Remind Me" and "If Everyone Cared," recorded an easygoing summertime video for new single "This Afternoon." The video is now in rotation on CMT.

"This Afternoon" is the eighth single from the band's Darkhorse CD and label representatives said there were no plans for an entire country album. The song’s future on country music radio — specifically whether it has one, or if the band even wants the tune to be played there — is unclear. In the meantime, watch the "This Afternoon" video above.

"I wanna do a record that's kinda trip-hop orientated, kind of a male Portishead type of record if you will," he told The Tennessean that August. "You know, a lot of programmed beats and cool string instrumentation. And then I wanna write a heavy, like Nine Inch Nails/Ministry type of thing, and I wanna write a country record. And I certainly hope that along the way people can still appreciate what it is that I'm doing. I don't have to express myself musically only in heavy rock music, you know?"

He's following through on at least one of those intentions, too: The singer discusses his "acoustic guitar based" solo album in a new interview with Billboard.com, and it's looking like it'll join the still-growing list of rock-to-country crossovers.

Said collection was recorded here in Nashville "with a bunch of country session musicians," Lewis said. "So it's kind of somewhere between country and James Taylor and (Staind hit) 'It's Been Awhile.'"